


11:11

by Goldenonyx



Series: Max's Naruto November [7]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Caring for injury, Fluff, Iruka gets stabbed, M/M, Stab Wound, blood mention, but its fine, kakashi cares
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-27
Updated: 2019-11-27
Packaged: 2021-02-26 01:01:25
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,253
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21584986
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Goldenonyx/pseuds/Goldenonyx
Summary: Iruka is really good at hiding injuriesKakashi is even better at finding them
Relationships: Hatake Kakashi/Umino Iruka
Series: Max's Naruto November [7]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1533464
Comments: 11
Kudos: 237





	11:11

Shinobi were quick to forget just how dangerous academy students could be. Their lack of experience and technique cause them to be unpredictable, and today was just another reminder of that fact. It was a terrific shot, Iruka was actually rather impressed, but it was clearly luck rather than skill. His quick reflexes normally allowed him to avoid whatever weapons flew his way, but occasionally not even he was fast enough. Like today, when Okino somehow managed one of the best kunai throws Iruka had ever witnessed. Unfortunately, he had also been on the receiving end.

Luckily for him, his class hadn’t had their unit on anatomy yet, otherwise things would have been a lot more chaotic. The kunai had embedded itself in Iruka’s thigh, just barely missing his femoral artery. It absolutely hurt like a bitch, and it took all of his willpower not to react, but he somehow played it off. He made sure to take the opportunity to explain to his class the importance of watching their aim before dismissing them, hoping the blood wasn’t too obvious.

Protocol says that whenever a training accident occurs, the injured party is required to seek treatment immediately and a report to be filled out by the end of the day. On the rare occasion it was a student who was injured, Iruka followed the procedure with no issue. On occasions like this however, when he was the one injured, he just dealt with it himself. He didn’t make a habit of breaking policy, he just didn’t think it was necessary to file a report for every scratch his class left him.

As soon as he had a free second, he locked himself in the bathroom, trusty first aid kit by his side. He wasn’t injured often, but from all his years teaching he had learned it best to always be prepared. The entire leg of his pants was wet with blood, and his face twisted in pain as he peeled the fabric off. It was definitely more than a scratch; the cut was deep with a steady flow of blood seeping out. Out of all the injuries he had received from his class, this was admittedly the worst.

Just looking at it, he knew he should probably let a medic-nin deal with it, but going to the hospital was out of the question. To Iruka, hospitals were where people went when there was no other option, a place consistently teetering between life and death. While his injury was bad, it wasn’t anything he couldn’t deal with himself, no matter how shoddy the job.

Was it reasonable? No, not really. He had taught his students early on how dangerous it was to hide injuries, and how the best thing they can do is get healed by a professional medic-nin. In this case he didn’t practice what he taught, but as long as no one knew the wiser he wouldn’t feel guilty about it.

Iruka focused on the task of cleaning the wound, hoping his focus would take his brain away from the pain. It didn’t work very well, but keeping his hands busy and his mind focused on something was helpful enough. Cleaning it was difficult since it was still producing a steady stream of blood, but all he was really worried about was a temporary solution until he could get home. When he accepted it was as good as it was going to get, Iruka began to stitch it up as carefully as possible. His normally steady hands shook slightly, but not enough to make things any more difficult for him.

Wrapping his leg in some bandage, Iruka pulled a clean pair of pants from his bag and swapped out his bloody pair. As long as he didn’t put it off, he would probably be able to get the blood out, and after a simple stitch job they’d be good as new. Standing up was unpleasant, and Iruka took a minute to school his expression before heading home, hoping that no one paid enough attention to notice he was in pain.

The closer he got to his apartment, the more he realized the real issue would be once he was inside rather than out in the village. Kakashi would most likely already be there, since he didn’t have a mission, and Iruka wasn’t convinced he could hide from him. While he was great at hiding injuries, he had a feeling that Kakashi was even better at finding them. The last time Iruka had been injured enough to worry him, Kakashi had been on a mission, but this time he didn’t have that luxury.

For the longest time the only interaction the two had was at the mission desk, and said interaction was never exactly friendly. Kakashi had a habit of turning in reports extremely late and extremely ineligible. Iruka was the only one to ever get on his case about it, ranking be damned he refused to accept anything that didn’t meet his standards. Kakashi easily could have turned in his reports when Iruka wasn’t working, however he only seemed to show up when he was there. It made Iruka suspicious, and he knew exactly what the other chunin were saying, but he did not for a second believe the reason was in any way interest related. They were two people from very different worlds with nothing in common, there was no reason for the jounin to show any interest in him.

Iruka quickly realized that the two of them did have something in common, and since that thing just so happened to be Naruto, they began to see more and more of each other. It was definitely awkward at first, Iruka quickly gave up on small talk and they mainly ignored each other, going about their business and only talking when Naruto led the conversation. Something about Kakashi annoyed Iruka, but he couldn’t pinpoint what it was. He just didn’t understand the other man, and that unsettled him.

His apartment, which already had an almost permanent resident in Naruto, gained another. At any given time either Naruto or Kakashi was there, and for some reason Iruka just let it happen. The spare bedroom filled with more of Naruto’s things every day, and Kakashi slept on the couch more often than not. It was nice, having people around, and as Kakashi spent more and more time around, Iruka slowly began to let his guard down. After a few months, he realized the main issue he and Kakashi had was due to himself rather than the other. Once he finally began to relax, things got easier.

Naturally, the comfort couldn’t last. Jiraiya had decided to teach Naruto, and Iruka felt his absence. He thought for sure that with Naruto gone his apartment would go back to being quiet and empty, but to his surprise it didn’t. Kakashi stayed, and Iruka realized that he might just love him, just a little bit.

They fell into a comfortable routine, when Kakashi was in the village he would be waiting for Iruka to be done at the academy. They would take turns cooking, sometimes even wander the village and stop at little hole-in-the-wall restaurants. Evenings consisted of Iruka working on lesson plans while Kakashi read, a comfortable silence between them.

That seemed to be a common theme, comfort in Kakashi’s presence. Iruka had never realized it was missing from his life until he suddenly had it. He never had to act around Kakashi, all he had to do was exist, and that was enough. And sure, maybe Iruka wasn’t trying all that hard to hide his newly discovered attraction, spending more time watching Kakashi than not these days, but with the amount of time he met the other’s eye, he was pretty sure he wasn’t the only one.

Of course, they never talked about it. They just stared, taking each other in, memorizing each other’s features. Iruka felt a little cheated, since he only had so much to look at, but he quickly realized he could actually see a lot despite the mask the other wore. It never progressed any further, and the fact Iruka wanted it to scared him.

Kakashi radiated danger. He was powerful and an extremely skilled shinobi, but that also meant he had entries in a fair number of Bingo Books. Iruka was happy with his life, a chunin teaching at the academy, occasionally taking lower ranked missions. It was safe, as long as you continue to ignore the occasional stab wound. But taking this thing any further would put a target on his back, on his students’ backs, and while he knew Kakashi would never let anything happen to him, he couldn’t ignore the growing anxiety he felt every time Kakashi left on a mission.

Was he already in too deep? Absolutely. Was he going to ignore that fact and pretend he’s not? One hundred percent. Was he screwed? No question about it.

As he approached his front door, Iruka could sense Kakashi’s chakra, and for the first time he wished his apartment was empty. If Kakashi was as familiar with Iruka as Iruka was with him, he would be found out immediately. Kakashi knowing wasn’t exactly the worst thing in the world, but he might try and make Iruka go to the hospital, and that just wasn’t an option. It was easier for no one to know, less uncertainty and more control Iruka had on the situation. So as he opened the door to his apartment, he knew he was utterly fucked.

He walked slowly, all of his focus on not limping. If Kakashi was going to figure it out, fine, but Iruka wasn’t going to make it easy. The man in question was sprawled out on the couch, book in hand as his eye lazily grazed the page. He gave Iruka a small wave as he walked by, hand falling slightly as he took Iruka in. Iruka gave him a small smile and attempted to escape into his bedroom, but a sudden presence behind him forced him to admit he’d been found out.

“You’re hurt,” Kakashi whispered, his breath warm against Iruka’s ear.

“I don’t know what yo-“ before he could finish his lousy play at ignorance, Kakashi had managed to pick him up and deposit him on the side of the tub. His hold was gentle and while it took a while for Iruka’s brain to catch up, he didn’t dislike it. With Kakashi kneeling in front of him, Iruka was surprised to see two eyes looking up at him, rather than the normal one. Looking down into Kakashi’s eyes, all of the fight in Iruka bled away, and he gave in. Slowly, he slid off his pants, being extra careful as he peeled the material off of his leg wound. He didn’t look at Kakashi, not wanting to see his reaction.

He didn’t want to unwrap the bandage, not in any hurry to look at it again, but careful fingers came up and slowly began to take it off, layer by layer. Iruka just watched him work, his fingers working in a professional manner. As the bandage fell away, the stillness in the room returned, neither party doing anything. The stitches held, although they definitely weren’t Iruka’s best work. There was still fresh blood around the wound, but it had decreased since the last time he’d seen it.

“Who stabbed you,” Kakashi said, his voice cold. In any other context it would have scared Iruka, but he could hear the fear behind it, so instead it was oddly comforting.

“The students were throwing kunais,” Iruka chuckled hysterically. The pain was starting to catch up with him and the intensified emotions now that Kakashi knew were not helping. He felt his head slump forward, resting against Kakashi’s shoulder. “The throw was incredible, I didn’t even have time to react.”

“Aren’t there policies in place for academy injuries?” he felt Kakashi mumble into his hair. He closed his eyes, focusing on Kakashi’s presence.

“There are.”

“But?”

“What nobody else knows doesn’t hurt them.”

“You were stabbed in the leg.”

Iruka sighed, opening his eyes and pulling away slightly, catching Kakashi’s gaze.

“I don’t like hospitals. Why bother going if I can handle it myself?”

Kakashi held his gaze, a flurry of thoughts going through his head before he focused back on Iruka’s leg, pulling antiseptic from under the sink and getting to work. He worked in silence for a while, cleaning the new blood and adjusting the stitches as needed. The blood had almost completely stopped by the time he finished, and as he put a fresh roll of bandage over it, he caught Iruka’s eyes again.

“Dealing with it yourself or going to the hospital aren’t the only options,” he muttered.

“Yeah, I see that,” Iruka smiled. “We’re starting our trap unit next week, and you’d be surprised what some of them come up with.”

“And I thought my job was dangerous,” Iruka could see the smile through the mask, and before he could stop himself he reached up, taking the fabric between his fingers. Kakashi just looked at him, and taking that as a go ahead he pulled down, eyes soaking up the jounin’s now uncovered face.

“You know, it’s kind of hard to memorize your face when it’s covered all the time,” Iruka teased, taking in every inch.

“I wouldn’t have stopped you.”

“Yeah,” he mumbled, smiling as lips met lips.

“I’m starting to see that now.”


End file.
